


Expectations

by EmberwolfSasha



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Introspection, M/M, Mentioned Performance Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-22 15:07:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8290225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmberwolfSasha/pseuds/EmberwolfSasha
Summary: A what-if of the results of the Hasetsu Ice Castle competition. Victor Nikiforov has expectations and Katsuki Yuuri meets and defies them in surprising ways.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly 1200 words of self-indulgent introspection and my personal guess at what might happen at the competition between the Yuris. I doubt it'll be quite as dramatic as Yuuri giving up so completely but I do think his nervousness will get the better of him, especially in front of his idol and considering his entire season post Grand Prix was cut short too. Anyway, enjoy or not as you will!

Victor had expected that. Well, maybe not _that_ specifically, but something like it. He had done a little digging for information after he first saw the video of Yuuri skating his program. It wasn’t a perfect rendition, no matter what anyone else said, but it was amazingly well done considering Yuuri was out of shape and there was something in Yuuri’s expressions and movements that told Victor that he was far more suited to the routine than he had been. In top form and with some coaching there was no doubt Yuuri would have been able to win.

So yes, Victor had investigated and learned that the Japanese figure skater had failed rather spectacularly at the previous Grand Prix Finals despite all his talent. It wasn’t entirely uncommon for someone of immense skill and talent to choke under the pressure. Even he sometimes had a rough day and fumbled a landing or couldn’t quite eke out the final rotation in a quad.

That though…that was something else entirely. A fumble here or there in the world of the Grand Prix might be enough to be sensationalized as the worst but as long as the skater got up again a performance could be saved. Victor in all his years had never seen someone shut down entirely like Yuuri just did. On the first jump, no less. Granted the first was usually also the hardest in the program because the sport was strenuous no matter how effortless it sometimes looked and the farther into the program the harder it became to pull off a successful quad.

Victor heard the music cut out abruptly and there were murmurs all around Ice Castle wondering about injury but he knew better. He had seen the way Yuuri landed and there had been nothing wrong with ankle or knee placement to cause an injury worth stopping over. Yuuri’s balance had been off because his body had been too stiff. Nerves.

To Yuuri’s immense credit he got up and, head bowed to hide his face, he skated off the rink with a sort of quiet dignity. There was no rush for the exit as Victor might have expected. No escape in haste to get away from prying eyes and the callous snort of laughter he heard from Yuri to his left. Victor blamed himself for letting the Russian teenager with his caustic pride stand next to him after his performance instead of waiting in the dressing room as was proper. He had thought maybe watching Yuuri for himself might show him something.

Yet Victor had expected an issue of nerves from the start after learning of Yuuri’s anxious tendencies from his friends. He should have known better than to add to the burden.

He saw Yuri turn to him from the corner of his eye and mutter something about retirement in Russian before adding in a louder, excited voice, “This means you’re coming back to Russia to coach _me,_ right?”

As if it was all decided. Victor supposed that technically Yuri would win the competition and those were the terms of the whole wager but he wasn’t satisfied with that.

 _“I’ll satisfy you for sure!”_ Was what Yuuri had said. Even now it still sent a shiver down Victor’s spine. The slightly wavering voice alone never would have been able to convince the veteran skater but the look in his eyes would never be forgotten. A sort of desperate confidence to win and to be able to eat that katsudon with Victor.

Victor’s smile was the same practiced one as always as he said, “We’ll just have to see, Yurio!” The nickname and the lack of commitment brought protests from the youth but Victor tuned them out as he turned to leave. The show was done for now and he had a feeling no one would be seeing Yuuri again any time soon. He had a hunch he knew when to expect him again and a fleeting glance at the couple that ran the rink day-to-day sharing a knowing look only reinforced it. It was okay, Victor was patient. He could wait.

The rest of the evening passed slowly as Victor anxiously spent the time at the onsen inn, splitting his time between doting on Makkachin and drinking saké. Few of the people close to Yuuri seemed particularly interested in holding a conversation and contrary to Yakov’s beliefs, even Victor knew how to be sensitive to others’ feelings sometimes. It helped that he wasn’t in the mood to talk much either.

As night descended Victor bundled himself up in his jacket – Russian winters made Japan’s look like autumn but it was still cool – and headed back over to the skating rink. His friends had probably tried to clear everyone out early to begin clean up to make the space ready for Yuuri again. When Victor walked in through the front door the husband – Nish-something, right? – looked up in surprise only for the expression to fade into acceptance quickly.

“He’s going over the program,” Nishigori told him and the Russian skater nodded. He hadn’t expected anything less from Yuuri. With a winning smile and a quick wiggle of his fingers in Yuuko’s direction when she poked her head out to see who her husband was talking to he made his way to the observation room they had used a week ago to watch Yuuri practice. It was probably supposed to be locked but he didn’t spare a thought to whether it being unlocked was deliberate or a happy mistake.

He arrived at just the right time to see Yuuri restart the music and take his position. The familiar strains of On Love: Eros began filling the rink and Victor watched with rapt attention as Yuuri began to _move_. He glided over the ice in a rhythm unique to him and brought a sensuality to the routine Victor frankly had not expected. It was what drew him to Yuuri in the first place. A sense of anticipation, waiting for that surprise twist only the younger man possessed.

Victor could tell he would surprise audiences too with such a performance even if they didn’t know him on a personal level. The routine was sexy and fun but there was an element of innocence to it all the same. It spoke of a first time with a lover, of hesitant shyness but eager affection. It was Eros but it was also a tiny bit Agape and he wondered if others would fall in love with him as easily as Victor was.

It was a gentle fall. More a pull than a lack of footing. Unexpected after just a week, perhaps, but Victor had always been a man of passionate emotions. He just never thought he would find a match in someone as reserved as Katsuki Yuuri. The younger man might not have been a match in skill just yet but the emotions playing on his face in that video had been just as vibrant and alive as Victor’s. That first draw had hooked him and then every little thing he learned just grew his affections for Yuuri.

The timing was wrong though. Yuuri idolized him too much and needed to focus on his own skating first. Victor would satiate himself with teasing him for the time being - those reactions were too delectable to pass up anyway – and bide his time. Three things were certain however.

One, Victor was patient.

Two, he _would_ be coaching Katsuki Yuuri.

Three, he had high expectations.


End file.
